Do your ASD kids regress when under stress?

[dsisasdnotabully]

I posted earlier in the week about ds and placement in an ASD unit, it was disastrous and he was manhandled repeatedly, restraint methods were questionable to say the least.

Thing is since all this happened he seems to have regressed and his autistic behaviours increased and worsened. Eg he is echolalic again, which is something we haven't seen for a good few years and also suddenly crazy about Thomas again, another obsession that phased out about a year ago, he is edgy and seems sad.

Just want him to be happy and confident again though I know that will take time. But it will happen won't it?

Yes, mine does, and yes it it will pass. Your poor DS.

Thanks. Yes I am gutted for him. I told him they would understand him there and he says that I lied to him . He is very quiet and distant from me.

Yes, dd definitely regresses and in the past, I worried that all of our hard work was undone. However, it always passes as the anxiety decreases.
Hope things get better for your ds- sorry you are having a bad time.

It quite simply has been the worst week since concerns were first raised back when he was three and I think we can all remember how scary those times are. I had a constant migraine for the whole time he was in the unit. The day after I removed him I woke up and it had gone.

I just want him back.

know how you feel my son being in a mainstream based unit is messing him up completely and we have lost our happy boy and don't know how to deal with the new ds are we supposed to live like this for 4 years. hope your son feels better soon, don't know how to advise

We've had a lot of stress at home recently, and sadly I've seen DS2 really struggle lately, going back to some stims and such that I haven't seen much in a while.

Yup deffo. The months following my son's assault were the hardest I've ever lived through and I'm not sure I could do it again.

Making him feel safe is the 1st stage of "getting your kid back". It's easier said than done but constant gentle reminders that it's over, the child is a good person & that it'll never happen again while you seem calm, optimistic etc help. They do pick up on our stress, even if they can't articulate the fact so it's incredibly important that you relax. (it's like they can smell your stress and they need reassurance).

While he's at home let him do whatver helps him relax - the veggie patch, the dog and building models seem to be my lad's key stress relievers, I know for a lot of boys it's a games console. He needs to process what's happened and that could take a while. Just try and see it as something you need to let him ride out.

NT adults who experience assault have issues for a while after & often need help to recover. How much harder for a child?

DS has got over it though, 10 months later he's at a new school and doing better than ever. Your boy will too - you just have to believe strongly enough to convince him